Ep. 151: Does Site C Infringe on First Nations Rights?
Guest: Eion Finn and Gordon Christie
The rights of First Nations are being infringed upon by the Site C dam.
That is the legal perspective of the West Moberly and Prophet River First Nations, who also question BC Hydro's numbers. Do they add up?
Both indigenous legal rights lawyer Gordon Christie and Eoin Finn of the Pacific Electricity Ratepayers Association don’t think so. When approaching the topic of Site C from different perspectives, they argue that Site C is the wrong project.
Mr. Christie points out that since the Delgamuukw and Tsilhqot'in Land Claims decisions in the Supreme Court of Canada, treaty rights issues have been pushed into the consultation arena that is at the core of the land claims rulings. He says this is wrong: treaty rights are not negotiable, they are entrenched and he contends those rights are being abused.
Mr. Finn goes into great detail about the numbers and he says, "Our Columbia River Treaty, agreement is 80% plus of the size of the proposed power from Site C."
He also points out that technological innovation that has seen a per person usage drop and he challenges BC Hydro's population increase numbers. Add in an expansion of renewable energy sources and Mr. Finn says we don't need Site C.
